Mattress Tag, Jaywalking, and A Cell Next to You
by HarleyChick91
Summary: This week is full of Teriah angst and I wanted to write a little dribble to help with that. Set after Mariah sees Tessa in holding.


**Mattress Tag, Jaywalking, and A Cell Next to You**

Driving home, I thought more about what I said to Tessa. _I already have a record. A petty crime in this town would get me in a cell just for the night. Cops are too busy with mom's case. They'll probably not even book me. Just put me in a cell to think about what I've done. _

Walking into our home with a newfoundland desire to break the law, I unfolded our bed, found the Do Not Rip tag, and tried ripping it. The damn thing wouldn't tear. Grumbling, I retrieved the scissors and made a clean cut right before the mattress. _If this works, I'll seriously be worried about the law enforcement in this town._

Driving back to the station, I strutted in and towards an officer's desk. Slamming the tag down gained his attention. "Can I help you, ma'am?"

"I ripped the tag off a mattress. Arrest me." _This is insane. What the hell am I doing?_

Confused, the older man looked between me and the tag, officer Butterfield smirked. "Do you own the mattress?"

"Y-yes... "

"Then it's not a crime. It's only a crime if the company removes the tag."

"Oh…" Taking the tag, I walked back outside and got in my car. _Who knew it'd be this hard to get arrested?_ Glancing around, I counted five cops. Seeing a crosswalk, I tried getting arrested again.

The first time I Jaywalked, I made sure the crosswalk sign was green. Nothing happened. No one even noticed. The second time, I crossed on red but no cars were coming. Again, nothing from any cops. Becoming more irritated, I made a skeptical of myself. "Don't mind me, officers! I'm just jaywalking on red!" This caused a few heads to turn but nothing else. _Are you kidding me?!_ Storming over to a nearby officer, I waited for him to finish his conversation.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, actually. Why haven't you done anything? I just broke the law 3 times in front of you and four other police officers in front of the police station."

"To be honest, no one upholds that law…"

"Are you kidding me? First, it's not actually illegal to rip the tag off of a mattress. Now, I find out no one cares about jaywalking. What's it going to take for you to arrest me?"

Genuine surprise lit the man's face. "Excuse me but you want me to arrest you?"

"Yes!" I couldn't help but stomp my foot like a third grader. I wanted to see my girlfriend!

Tilting his head, the man folded his arms. "Aren't you Mariah Copeland from GC Buzz?"

"I am, yes. Why?"

"And you're dating Tessa Porter?"

Becoming defensive, I folded my own arms. "Where are you going with this?"

"Do you still have that tag?" He grinned.

"Yeah, why?"

"Littering is a crime." Taking the tag out of my pocket, I tossed it on the ground. "Mariah Copeland, you are under arrest." Spinning me, Officer Collier cuffed me. As we walked towards the station, he whispered. "Since I'm not reading you your rights, this isn't technically a real arrest. It wouldn't hold up in court. Just stay quiet and I'll let you out in the morning."

"Got it. Thank you."

Walking into the station, I grinned triumphantly the officer escorted me to the cell next to Tessa's. Jumping to her feet, Tessa panicked. "What happened? What are you doing?"

"Your little girlfriend here got herself arrested." Opening the cell, Officer Collier took off my cuffs before walking away."

"Mariah, I thought you were joking earlier. What did you do?" Hazel eyes studied me. "Wait…"

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to get arrested for a petty crime in GC? I had to jaywalk three times and then point it out to an officer before he would even speak to me. Apparently, no one cares about not crossing in the crosswalk. So, I had to toss the mattress tag that I cut off, because the damn thing wouldn't tear, on the ground to get a littering violation."

"You spent the last two hours trying to get arrested just so you could spend the night here with me?"

"Yes."

"Mariah…" Cupping my face through the bars, Tessa's eyes became glassy. "I love you."

"I love you too." Leaning in, my depth persecption sucked. Instead of kissing Tessa, I smacked my nose against a bar. "Ow!"

"Oh my God! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine."

Inspecting my nose, Tessa sighed. "It's not bleeding. I think you'll be fine." Guiding me closer to the bars, she laughed. "Stay still." Kissing me through the bars was awkward but I still loved it.

"I meant what I said, we're going to walk out of here together."

"I didn't think you meant it like this." Tessa scoffed.

"I didn't. But I don't want you to spiral. And I can see it happening. I know you, Tessa. I know the demons inside your head. This resource is the exact reason you're not an evil terrible person." Peering downwards, Tessa ran her hands through messy hair. "Hey, hey, look at me." I paused. "Tessa, look at me." Eventually, the musician listened and did as I asked. "I love you and I'm your rock. I'll be here for you no matter what."

"I know. That's one of the many reasons why I don't deserve you."

"This self-loathing crap needs to stop." I huffed. "But one battle at a time."


End file.
